I had fun riding this week.  I didn't think I'd get my lesson in on Mick on Wednesday because there was rain all around, and it started sprinkling when we tacked up, but then it stopped and did not start again until my lesson was over!  Then it poured.  And it was warm, 65 F at dawn, with a warm wind, and I ended up riding in my shirt sleeves, in December no less.  I don't ever remember riding in December and working up a sweat!

Mick went well, which was good since Debbie…

Do you have a mare that suffers from Jealous Mare Syndrome?  I have two.  I don't think this is a real syndrome, but check out my blog post about it :)

http://rideeverystride.blogspot.com/

This is how you can tell there is a tourist in the barn: they keep their eyes on the ground and there’s lots of erratic tiptoeing. Some even squeal at the sight of manure. I call it Fecalphobia- an irrational fear of digestive waste. Thankfully, humans are the only species prone to the disease. (Nincompoops.) Everybody else is fine about bowel relief.

People who live with horses don’t get emotional about poop. It’s such a normal part of the day-to-day…

I am determined to improve my riding in the arena, this winter, so I got out my old Mary Wanless book.  I am reviewing chapter by chapter.  I got to the chapter on breathing and bearing down—and I realized I wasn’t doing it right anymore.  Somewhere during trail riding and breaking in a new horse, I lost it.  I practiced all day at work to prepare for my rides.

I started out with Cruiser, my older horse that I am starting anew.  Guess what—he had his best day of the winter. …

Ranger Tests Us

It’s not often I mention that Ranger is having a problem, and that’s because he is a fairly consistent horse.  Every now and then, he throws in something to keep my sister, Ellen, on her toes.  Well, he did it, again.

One day, back in November, he acted very strange during tacking up.  We…

We've taken in 93 Minis and ponies to date, and this is the first time we've had to put one down.

Warning - GRAPHIC - footage of injuries.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPsqsENOhqk

WHC offers seated sessions for riders. The side to side movement while riding causes the hips to rotate. This stimulates the fluid that flows up and down within the spinal column - from the base of the sacrum to the connection at the brain stem.  The nerves that are connected the length of the spine are stimulated as well, reaching out to all the limbs. This profoundly affects the connection between mind and body. It stimulates new thought processes, creating new neural pathways and…

A Small and Unexpected Miracle

Years ago, I’m not even sure when, I found a lump in Cruiser’s throatlatch area.  It didn’t seem to hurt him, so I waited until the next time the vet came out to ask her what it was.  She said it was a tumor on his thyroid, that there was nothing we could do about it and it wouldn’t do any harm.

 …

It has been a pretty good week.

Wednesday, for my lesson on Mick, I faced a super-saturated ring since we had 2 inches of rain earlier in the week.  I could not practice extending Mick's trot, if I had tried I would have torn up the ring and everybody would have been splattered with wet sand.  So it was mostly the walk with some sitting trot, nothing exciting at all.  During…

I stopped in to see Cooper first before heading out for my riding lesson. The cross ties were too high and short for him so I ground tied him to groom him a little. He was very good when I was there and as soon as I left the room and left him with my husband he started to walk away. My husband is too soft with Cooper and our dog LOL

The barn manager says that Cooper has such good ground manners, I was happy to hear that. One woman that was there says she thinks she sees Morgan in him.…

This was my last lesson at Five Star Ranch with Cooper. I have learned so much in the short time we have been riding together there. I will miss the lessons on him but it was getting too much driving there on a work night and putting gas in my truck.

I moved him to a new barn yesterday that is 15-20 minute drive from home. There are no trails but that is ok as I am not that interested anymore in doing that. I hope to be able to see him more often and not dread that long drive all the…

It was a chilly night—right around freezing—perfect for riding horses with winter coats.

I rode both horses in the arena last night.  My ride with Cole wasn’t consistent, and I just couldn’t seem to get my body in sync with his at the trot.  Remember, he has a huge and impulsive trot which can be tough to sit and I consider impossible to post.  I have found that you need to plug into the side-to-side motion while keeping the movement slightly forward, too.  This gets the best…

This horse is a very special soul – she works miracles for our non profit Spring Reins of Life with at risk youth and war veterans.  She is caught in the cross fire of a very sudden surprise of farm foreclosure – once we have some runway time our nonprofit can budget and fund-raise for her care…however in this time crunch we need the support to cover her costs and special needs so that she can remain with us, in our…

I was fortunate enough to have attended the Philippe Karl clinic 2 yrs ago and I must say I think it was the best clinic I have ever attended (... and I've been to many!) I love the philosophy of his teaching and the harmonious intention that is paramount with all his teaching! I also attended this year, a clinic with one of his graduate student from his School of Lightness and she was fantastic as well! We need more clinicians like this! And we need our "top rider" to attend them!! I'm just…

I worked both horses in the arena, last night. Cruiser is being consistent and each ride he’s improving slightly. At this rate, he will be 30 years old by the time I get him where I want him. We worked mostly on straightness. He has been bending to the right when going to the left. This never used to be so prominent, so I think that some of it might be the stiffness of old age. If Cole had the same problem, I would know it was more me than Cruiser. We added small circles to the right to our…

The Best Trail Riding Month of the Summer—November



After a record amount of precipitation this year, where we were rained out weekend after weekend, vacation after vacation, we finally had a good month for riding. Usually November is a crummy trail riding month. What a treat it was. Ellen and I even had vacation time that we were able to get out and cross the river.



I was able to put on a lot of miles with Cole. Much of it was with Ranger. He is behaving beautifully with…

I am amazed when I travel to barns to do a saddle fit how many saddles do not properly fit the horse or the rider.  The best way to explain proper saddle fit to the customer is to use the comparison of starting to train in a pair of shoes that do not fit.  Would you be able to run comfortable in shoes that are too big or too small.  Now imagine that you want to ride and train your horse in a saddle that is either too big or too small.